I will goooo, I will doooo, the things the Lord commands! I know the Lord provides a way!"

Hello all! 

So much to say and so little time. 

1. Birthday. I'm 21 and feel 15. But I had seriously a great day!! Thanks for the packages and love! Sister Son made the cake mix and she put birthday stickers all over the apartment. I drank an IBC root beer in honoring of being legal now. I hadn't had pop in 6 months and it made me a little sick, haha. My zone decorated our car at district meeting the next day and sang to me and made us cookies. It was just a great day! We all know I really get into birthdays, but it was a perfect day. I know I'm supposed to be here and I wouldn't rather celebrate in any other way than talking to people about Jesus Christ. 

2. New mission president! President and Sister Weidman are so great! We will miss the Bakers so much of course. They got here on my birthday. And we got a call the night before from the AP's that said "Sister Weidman wants to come on splits with someone. What does your schedule look like tomorrow?" So she came out with us on her first day! And on my birthday. I thought I was going to have a panic attack, but after she left our car that night I told Sister Son it was like having a mix between my mom and Sister Elaine S. Dalton in our backseat. She came with us in the evening to two very very very different lessons with Darrell and Martha. Then we had official "meet the president" on Saturday. Basically, they are all about love and joy. I'm trying to show my love and joy for the work more and more. 

3. This week we found some gems! One was this cool girl named Alex. We just ran into her on the street and then had a lesson with her on Saturday. When we left her after meeting her on the street, Sister Son and I looked at each other and were like, 'she's so normal'! We then realized we both said that because we both noticed her "Platform 9 3/4" keychain. So by normal, we mean someone we would be friends with. Which doesn't really give any sense of normality. 

4. We had really good lessons with people this week. I love love love teaching. Some of those lessons:

-Darrell. We meet with him for 30 minutes 3-ish times a week on his work break. He basically looks like Dwight Howard. And he is so sincere. And is basically the reason I'm praying I stay here one more transfer. 

-DENIS. PASSED HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW. AND IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY. I'M SO PROUD OF HIM. IT'S A MIRACLE. It was his mom's birthday on the 26th, so we used the b'day decor mom had sent me, to decorate her apartment (I'm sure you don't mind mom). She is my Uzbekistanian mother. She's great.  

-Vitali and Ania. They are just such a great couple who have fallen in love with our members. 

-Martha. Martha is a very devout Evangelical Christian who knows a lot of our married UCLA students from the playground at their apartment complex. It is very obvious to me that previous experiences in my life have prepared me to meet Martha. We've meet many times and each time is better and better. She knows her stuff and has done a lot of research (and you know what I mean by research). But the millimeter of progression we see in each lesson is so worth it to us to keep meeting with her. She's an awesome mom and example of faith.

5. People keep joking I'm leaving. Not funny. I know the Lord will keep or take me wherever I need to be, but I'm praying I stay here one more transfer. transfers are next week  (so p-day will be Tuesday)! Can you believe I've been out 6 months?! It's seriously nuts. 

6. I'll send lots of pics home today! 

7. I'm starting to realize why people talk about how missions change you. I look back and I seriously have changed a lot. I've just learned so much about who I am and who I want to become. I would say the Lord has greatly challenged two principles for me: faith and humility. But because of that, I have grown in those areas tremendously. And I recognize that there is so much more to work on.  This is a classic Book of Mormon scripture that's meaning deepens for me everyday:
         Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Whew, I think that's almost everything I wanted to touch base on. I'm laughing lots. Learning lots. Loving lots. And relying on the Lord,... uhm LOTS. I love you all so much and am really grateful to those who read my emails/blog! Pray--He is there :) make it a great week!

LOVE LOVE LOVE, 

Sister Atkinson